774 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[April 2, 1883. 



not have attained the satisfactory results now manifest 

 had not the authorities, partly by chance, secured a 

 packago of seeds styled Ledgeriana, after the gentle- 

 man who brought it OTer from America. The trees 

 raised from these seeds yielded bark which ou analysis 

 proved to contftia quinine in almost incredible abund- 

 ance. This investigation took place in 1S73. Since 

 then it has been decided to increase and multiply 

 this tree in numbers as much as possible. Private 

 cinchona plantations, owing to the liberal policy of 

 the Government, have been supplied by it gratis with 

 seeds of the Ledgeriana cinchona tree, whereby they 

 are ensured the certainty that their barks will fetch 

 high prices, much higher than those realized for 

 American barks, and that they can maintain compet- 

 ition with any other cinchona producing country. This 

 is a foitgoue conclusion, since from chemical analysis, 

 it has been ascertained that seedlings from Ledgeriana 

 cinchona are not inferior to the parent trees in percent- 

 age of quinine obtaioable from them. — Straits Times. 



THE STATE AND PROSPECTS OF THE 

 COFFEE MARKET. 



Messrs. Robert von Glehn &Co. take a very sanguine 

 view of the coffee market. Not only has consumption 

 been stimulated, but if the accounts from Brazil are 

 to be relied on, the inevitable collapse which follows 

 undue and enormous inflation is already imminent 

 and its commencement an actual fact. For the 18 

 months ending 31st Dec. 1882, the exports from Rio 

 and Santos reached the stupendous total of 9,008,879 

 bags. The estimate for the similar period commenc- 

 ing with 1st January 1883 is only 7,525,000 bags, a 

 falling-ofif of very nearly IJ million of bags. There 

 is another encouraging fact, that while the shipments 

 from Rio and Santos to Europe were in 1882 less 

 by 219,265 bags than in 1881, the increase of exports 

 to the United States was 336,884. It seems as if the 

 great republic were prepared to keep pace in its con- 

 sumption with the prodtiction of Brazil, and the recent 

 lowering of the sugar duties must lead lo an increased 

 use of cofifee. Messrs. von Glehn & Co. are strongly 

 of opinion that prices have been for some time kept 

 down by speculators who had entered into coniracts at 

 low rates, and they feel confident that when the general 

 demand they, iutheirCircn/aJ', predict, sets in, the suiplus 

 stocks of coffee will " disappear like snow in siunmi.r." 

 With such prospects in view, the pity is tliat poor 

 Ceylon has not more of her finer coffee to send into 

 the markets of the world. The complaint under which 

 Brazil IS suflering, on the other hand, is over-produc- 

 tion ot colfee to such an extent that the crops c.f many 

 plantations, unfavourably situated for transport, did 

 no more than pay the cost of production and transit 

 to Rio, the shipping port, while much is held back 

 for a similar reason ; numerous estates, openerl with 

 money at much over 10 and 12 per cent, being 

 " unreutable." Sooner or later, of course, cases like 

 this must lead to extensive reaction, and if it is 

 destined (as, please God, it may be) that our coffee trees 

 should recover their pristine vigour and bearing power, 

 good, even high, prices may await Ceylon crops. From 

 Kern, Hayn& Co.'s annual review of the Brazilian coffee 

 trade, it is clear that vast production and a gieat ei 

 port trade do not always mean the prosperity of a 

 cofiee country or of individual producers. Tlie report, 

 indeed, is as depreesed in tone as if Ceylon were its 

 subject, for it states that "neither the agiicnlture, 

 nor the commerce, nor the industry of the country 

 have any reason to look back with satisfaction on the 

 past twelve monthg." Ab regards Government finance 



it is the old story : to make both ends meet another 

 loan of £10,000,000 sterling must be added to the 

 already heavy load of debt of the Empire. It is true, 

 the resources of the country are many and great, but 

 they cannot be developed without labour, and now that 

 Spain is about to grant freedom to her slaves in 

 Cuba, emancipation in Brazil cannot be long delayed. 

 Meantime, immigration continues im a small scale, as 

 it must do while slavery and intolerant and illiberal 

 laws exist. The necessity the Government feels under 

 of borrowing is, no doubt, to some extent due to the 

 efforts made in favour of the great agricultural in- 

 terests. In November of last year, the imperi.il export 

 duties on coffee, cocoa, sugar, &c. , were reduced by 

 2 per cent, and the railway tariff's were to be lowered 

 by, respectively, 10, 15 and 20 per cent. The Bra- 

 zilian Government is, in fact, doing all that is possible 

 for the great industries of the laud, short of guarantee, 

 ing interest to the proposed large "Rural Mortgage 

 Bank." They have gone the length of guaranteeing 

 pretty high interest on Central Sugar Faetories, but 

 even the statesmen of Brazil could not swallow the 

 guaranteeing of interest to a bank doing business in loans 

 ou coffeeand other landedproperty. The South American 

 brokers commence their notice of the staple product of 

 Brazil by saying : '• Coffee has, during the year just 

 elapsed, not left very pleasant recordations [sic] to 

 the greater part of those who handled it." The 

 reasons why are given in detail, with cautious estimates 

 of the future course of the trade, the result of which ia 

 an expression of belief that the coming Rio crop would 

 be au average one of 4 millions of bags, a quantity 

 which, in view of the greatly stimulated demand, 

 there can be no doubt, the coffee-consuming countries, 

 with the United States at their head, can easily dis- 

 pose of, Santos, however, may add at least li million 

 ol bags, as last year the export of this kind rose lo 

 102,00U tons against 241,000 fiom Rio. We hope to 

 give this very interesting report, with further re. 

 marks, tomorrow. Meanwhile, it may be worth while 

 stating that one firm, that of Ed. Johnston & Co., 

 shipped in 1882 no fewer than 450,795 bags, or more 

 than twice our Ceylon estimated export for season 

 1882-83 ! We have already noticed I hat the sales at 

 Rio in one month reached 616,000 bags, or four times 

 our estimated crop ! 



REPORT ON THE GOVERNMENT CINCHONA 



ENTERPRIZE IN JAVA, FOR THE 



3rd quarter 1882. 



^^Ti'anslated for the *^Cei/lnn Obsei've/'.'^ ) 



Whilst July, with 17 raiuy days, on which 275 mm. 

 of rain fell, must be classed among the wet months, in 

 August the dry monsoon set in, and the greater part of 

 that niontli and also of September was distinguished by 

 great drouiht, alternated hy onlya few rainy days. This 

 dry weather was very welcome for the harvesting, and 

 every available force was utilized for that purpose. Dur- 

 ing the past quarter, however, in consequence of the coffee 

 and rice liarvest, the supply of labor was instilhcient. 

 About 170,000 Amst. lb. of bark have now been gathered, 

 of which, at the end of September, 150,000 packed iu 

 1,112 bales had been dispatched to Tjicao. 8,000 more 

 succiruliras were planted out iu the open. Against this, 

 some 28,030 trees were dug up, all belonging to inferior 

 varieties. The experiments with the gratis iu the open idr 

 were continued during the quarter by the nurseryman 

 Toekamp Lammer.s. So far they cannot be said to have 

 had successful results. Of the buddings, by which a bud 

 with a ]nece of bark of 0. LefJgoriana was brought be- 

 tween hark and wood of a C. siiccinibra stem, only 15 

 p. c. siicoeded. The method of "ferule" grafts, which was 

 carrieil out with such exceptional results in the nursery- 

 houses with grafts ot cinchona, is now also fried in the 

 open Mir, with the precaution, that the place of grafting 

 aud the grafted sciou are covered with grafting wax. Of 



